Eastern Illini has begun replacing meters throughout our service territory. The installation of new meters began in Iroquois County and will continue until all meters have been replaced. The goal is to have all the new meters in place by the end of 2023.

Members will be notified in advance that the new meters are being replaced. A meter installation technician will knock on the door of members’ homes to inform residence the new meter is being installed. Members don’t need to be home for the installation. If members aren’t home, a hang tag will be left on the door. Members need not do anything in advance of the new meter installation. After the installation, members may need to reset the clock on their microwave if it is blinking. Most meters are located outdoors, so the technician will remove the old meter and install the new meter in a matter of less than 30 minutes.

According to Brad Smith, Vice President of Operations and Engineering, the new meters are part of Eastern Illini’s on-going commitment to responsiveness and reliability. These meters are an investment in our distribution system and future automation. Paul Crutcher, Eastern Illini Engineer and project manager for the new meter installation project, shared that automation and other distribution system intelligence has the ability to integrate with other sensors, such as fault indicators. By incorporating this additional information, Eastern Illini will have enhanced troubleshooting capabilities during outages and the end result is faster restoration times.